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Understanding Neurodiversity and Areas of Challenge for the 2e Student
Neurodiversity and the 2e Student
Let's start with voices of those who have experienced not "being normal." The following is a trailer for a 4-part mini-documentary available for renting for public screening from Normal Isn't Real
Thomas Armstrong provides a shift in thinking about students with special needs. In his book, Neurodiversity in the Classroom, he proposes:
Just as we celebrate diversity in nature and cultures, so too do we need to honor the diversity of brains among our students who learn, think, and behave differently and embrace the strengths of such neurodiverse students to help them and their neurotypical peers thrive in school and beyond (Neurodiversity in the Classroom, ASCD) --This resource has sample chapters from the book and is well worth bookmarking for later use).
In the following 7:16 minute video, Armstrong advocates for looking at the strengths and strategies for bringing out strengths. Click on the title to open in YouTube to access closed captioning.
In this table, Armstrong contrasts elements of deficit-based special education with elements of strengths-based special education (grounded
in neurodiversity). (To see the article that includes the table click HERE - optional.)
Additional reading: choose one of the articles below to read more about neurodiversity. You may want to bookmark the others for later reading.
Neurodiversity: The Future of Special Education? By Thomas Armstrong in ASCD
Neurodiversity: A Concept Whose Time Has Come Review of several of Armstrong's books -American Institute for Learning and Human Development.
Neurodiversity and Dyspraxia by Mary ColleyMental Disorder or Neurodiversity? by Aaron Rothstein